Liquid crystal displays are commonly used as display devices for compact electronic apparatuses, because they provide good quality images and are very thin. A major component of a typical liquid crystal display is a liquid crystal panel.
Referring to FIG. 13, a typical liquid crystal panel 13 includes a first substrate assembly 910, a second substrate assembly 920 generally opposite to the first substrate assembly 910, a liquid crystal layer 930 sandwiched between the two substrate assemblies 910, 920, and a plurality of spacers 940 spacing the first substrate assembly 910 and the second substrate assembly 920. The liquid crystal layer 930 includes a plurality of liquid crystal molecules 931.
Referring also to FIG. 14, the second substrate assembly 920 includes a second transparent substrate 921, a plurality of gate lines 922 that are parallel to each other and that each extend along a first direction, and a plurality of data lines 923 that are parallel to each other and that each extend along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The gate lines 922 and the data lines 923 cross each other, thereby defining a plurality of pixel regions 925. Each pixel region 925 includes a thin film transistor (TFT) 926 disposed in the vicinity of the intersection of the data line 923 and the gate line 922, and a pixel electrode 927.
The first substrate assembly 910 includes a first transparent substrate 911, and a color filter 918 disposed on an inner surface of the first transparent substrate 911. The color filter 918 includes a plurality of red filter units 914, a plurality of green filter units 915, a plurality of blue filter units 916, and a black matrix 917 separating the filter units 914, 915, 916. The filter units 914, 915, 916 are arrayed in a predetermined pattern, and are spaced from each other by the black matrix 917 to avoid color mixing.
The black matrix 917 corresponds to the gate lines 922, the data lines 923, and the TFTs 926. An area of the liquid crystal panel 13 corresponding to the black matrix 917 is defined as a non-display region because the black matrix 917 can absorb incident light. The filter units 914, 915, 916 correspond to the pixel electrodes 927. An area of the liquid crystal panel 13 corresponding to the filter units 914, 915, 916 is defined as a display region.
The spacers 940 are distributed in both the non-display region and the display region. Surfaces of the spacers 940 may affect the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules 931 in the display region, thereby impairing the display performance of the liquid crystal panel 13. Furthermore, the spacers 940 in the display region may move and gather together preventing light from transmitting through the display region. In addition, the pitch between the two substrate assemblies 910, 920 may not be uniform, further impairing the display performance of the liquid crystal panel 13.
Therefore, a liquid crystal panel that can overcome the above-described deficiencies is desired.